


Don't Carry The Wold Upon Your Shoulders

by tiddywrites



Category: VIXX
Genre: Comfort Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Other, a hint of angst, emo fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-06 19:25:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12217368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiddywrites/pseuds/tiddywrites
Summary: In which VIXX takes care of Hakyeon after the accident





	Don't Carry The Wold Upon Your Shoulders

**Author's Note:**

> This one goes out to my wife Christine for being the kindest angel, and helping me proof read tons of stuff, i love you ♥

The last notes of ‘Dynamite’ slowly fade out, which signals for them to get into formation for ‘Love Me Do’. Hakyeon rarely gets nervous before a performance. They’ve run through the choreography numerous times and he could do it blindfolded. But today he somehow can’t shake off the feeling that something is wrong. His heart is beating rapidly in his chest, and catching his breath seems far harder than usual. The sun is mercilessly shining down from a cloudless sky, making him feel like he’s wrapped in a blanket of hot dry heat.  
Hakyeon walks to the front of the stage, grabbing one of the water bottles, which have been placed next to the speaker. The others have started finding their places, and Hakyeon only has enough time to take a quick sip of water, attempting to cool himself down, before he has to get into position. He hastily throws the bottle in the direction from where he got it, accidentally making it roll out on the floor by Taekwoon’s feet. His eyes meet with the taller male, and he points to the bottle; to make him aware of it being out on the stage but more importantly to remind him to drink enough water.  
They have been a group for more than five years now, and yet there has only been one case of one of the members fainting during a performance. But still Hakyeon can’t help but worry under conditions like this. More than anything he wants to avoid another accident like that - both for the sake of his members and the sake of their fans.  
Taekwoon’s eyes fall on the bottle on the floor, and in a quick motion he kicks it away. He looks back up at Hakyeon, a hint of worry in his eyes. Knowing that they’re already a couple of seconds behind, Hakyeon doesn’t have time to return his gaze, and instead quickly walks to his position.  
The music starts, and so do the six boys who stand on stage, to the cheers of the excited fans. Every touch between the members makes the roar from the audience grow louder, and the clear excitement only makes the idols work harder. Too occupied with the amazing choreography and the other five people on stage, no one notices the one member who seems to grow paler and paler as the song proceeds.  
Hakyeon feels like he’s drowning in the heat. His clothes soaked in it. His throat choking on it. But with all his power he fights through the nausea, forcing a smile on his lips to not worry the fans. He knows some of them have come from far away, just to watch them perform, and he won’t be the person responsible for ruining that.  
Wonshik does his rapping part by the end of the song, and Hakyeon could cry of relief from finally being able to kneel down for a brief moment. At the same time, he knows that he mustn’t get unfocused, as his solo in the choreography is up next. Wonshik gets down next to Hongbin and the soft “Oh, baby love me do” cues for Hakyeon’s solo to begin. He puts every last bit of energy left in his body into every single movement, pushing through the extreme dizziness trying to get him down, and to his happiness receiving enthusiastic cheers from the crowd of fans. He tries convincing himself, that his mind and body are separated, as he pushes himself up from the floor, ignoring the prickly feeling in his fingers, his heart pounding in his chest. But as he gets up, the corners of his vision begin to go blurry, the scene spinning underneath him. He knows that he has to get away from the center, but his sense of direction is lost as he feels like he’s getting sucked into a black hole.  
Next thing he knows, his body hits the ground and just in time he manages to avoid hitting his head on the floor, using his hands. Faintly, he can hear people yelling, but it all seems so far away. Everything is a big blur, and the nausea is tickling in the back of his throat and thus he closes his eyes, trying to clear his head. He’s aware of the many eyes locked on him in this moment, and he know that he needs to get off the stage. His arms are shaking underneath him as he tries pushing himself up from the ground, only managing to crawl a single step forward. He feels a hand grab him by the arm, but his head feels too heavy to look up at the person. He feels as if he’s about to slip away once again, and only one thought keeps him going: he has to get off the stage. With a tight grip on the hand trying to help him up, Hakyeon tries pushing himself up from the floor. But his feet keep twisting underneath him, keeping him from getting up. It isn’t until he feels a firm grip on his right arm, that he’s finally able to return to his feet. Every step he takes is shaky and unsteady, but with a strong arm around his back, he is finally helped away from the stage. By the backdrop his legs finally give up, and he has to be dragged the last few meters before he’s finally out of the audience’s sight.  
\---  
Hakyeon wakes up with a start, at first not quite sure where he is. The room is shrouded in soft darkness and faintly he can hear the rain beating against the window, the sky rumbling above him. Slowly, he sits up in the bed and realizes, that he’s back in his own room. His memory of how he got there is very faint, and his last clear memory is drinking water before starting their performance. His eyes seek to the digital clock on the night stand, and his heart starts pounding like crazy in his chest, when he realizes, that it is already way past noon. He’s got to be hours late for practice, and to not lose any more time, he quickly kicks off the bedsheet and jumps out of bed. Getting up too fast immediately makes the room spin, and he reaches out for the nightstand for support, accidentally knocking down a plastic cup. To prevent further damage, he carefully sits down on the floor, his hand still holding on to the nightstand. Faint talking is heard from then next room, and the floor creaks underneath a pair of hurried feet, before the door is opened. Hakyeon looks up and his eyes lock with a familiar pair of deep brown eyes.  
”Are you okay?” Taekwoon asks softly, his hands clenching around the door knob.  
”Y-yeah, I’m fine,” Hakyeon hurriedly says, lowering his gaze. ”I was just trying to…” His voice slowly fades out, as he realizes that he has no good excuse for being on the floor and he doesn’t even fully remember how he got to his bedroom. Closing the door behind him to leave any possibly nosy intruders out, Taekwoon walks closer to Hakyeon and kneels down in front of him.  
”Please… don’t strain yourself,” he says and places his hand on Hakyeon’s upper arm, gently stroking it with his thumb. ”The doctor said that you need to rest.” Hakyeon nods at his words, his eyes still locked on the floor.  
”Hakyeon,” Taekwoon gently calls his name, his grip tightening around Hakyeon’s arm, which makes Hakyeon look back up at him.  
“Please tell me the next time you aren’t feeling,” he continues. “You don’t have to pretend that you’re well when you aren’t.” He pauses for a short moment, before adding with a small voice: “You really scared me…”  
“I’m sorry,” Hakyeon apologizes, feeling the tears starting to tickle in the corners of his eyes.  
“Don’t be,” Taekwoon says with a small smile. “All we want for you is to be healthy so please… talk with me, or one of the others for that matter, if anything is ever troubling you.” Hakyeon can’t help but smile back at his friend, and nods while trying to blink the tears away.  
“Do you want to come out in the living room?” Taekwoon asks. “Dinner will be ready soon.”  
“That would be nice,” Hakyeon says, and after a short pause he asks with a tiny voice, “Do you think… you could help me up?” He isn’t usually the one to ask for help. As the leader of the group he feels it’s his duty to take care of the others, doing everything on his own. But looking at where it’s got him, he realizes that it’s time to ask for help. Taekwoon smiles at him.  
“Of course!” he says, getting up from the floor. He reaches out his hands towards Hakyeon, and with a small groan Hakyeon finally gets helped up. Still a little unsteady on his feet, Hakyeon holds onto Taekwoon for support to finally be able to exit the bedroom.  
A faint sizzling meets the two as they pass the kitchen door on their way to the living room. Hakyeon has no idea when he last ate, but the mere smell of food instantly makes his stomach rumble.  
“They’re making kimchi stew,” Taekwoon says and after a muffled swear is heard from the kitchen quickly adds: “Or… at least they’re trying.” A light chuckle escapes Hakyeon’s lip. Taekwoon is usually the one responsible for cooking at the dorm, and to be frank Hakyeon is surprised that he has even let Wonshik and Hongbin back into the kitchen after their last accident. It had taken Taekwoon forever to get the tomato sauce scraped off the ceiling.  
“Can I get you anything?” Taekwoon asks after helping Hakyeon to sit down on the sofa. Hakyeon opens his mouth to kindly decline his offer, but is immediately cut off by a loud yell coming from the kitchen. Taekwoon jumps at the sudden noise, which soon after is followed by another yell, this time clearly coming from Wonshik: “HYUNG.”  
“I better go check up on them,” Taekwoon hurriedly mutters before he quickly moves towards the kitchen. Hakyeon pricks up his ears, trying to catch what they’re saying in the kitchen. But all he picks up is vague mumbling and a frustrated sigh followed by the sounds of the tap running. Hakyeon lets out a snort and shakes his head at the thought of the mess which must be going on in the kitchen.  
After a couple of minutes Hongbin emerges from the kitchen, his right hand tightly clenched. Hakyeon can clearly see the painful expression on his face.  
“Hongbin!” he exclaims in a worried tone, about to get up from the sofa. “Are you alright?” Hongbin looks up.  
“Please don’t get up, hyung!” he says, walking over to the sofa. “I’m fine.” Not entirely comforted by the younger boy’s words, Hakyeon sits back on the sofa, Hongbin joining him not long after. Hakyeon reaches out to take a look at his hand, but Hongbin immediately pulls away.  
“I’m fine, really,” he repeats. “You don’t need to worry.”  
“Just let me take a quick look at it,” Hakyeon says, giving Hongbin a comforting smile. “I just want to make sure you’re really fine.” He once again reaches out to take Hongbin’s hand, but Hongbin pulls it even closer to his chest. Hakyeon looks at him with a puzzled look, bewildered by the dismal look on his face.  
“Hongbin…”  
“I’m….,” Hongbin mutters with a vague voice, his eyes locked on his lap. “I wasn’t able to help you… so…. I don’t deserve to be helped by you.” There’s a short moment of silence between them before it’s broken by a small chuckle from Hakyeon.  
“That’s silly! Of course you deserve my help,” he says and playfully nudges Hongbin’s shoulder. “What kind of lousy leader would I be, if I didn’t take care of my members!”  
“But… you’re always so kind to us,” Hongbin mutters, his voice slightly shaky. “And the one time you are the one who needs help… I fail you.” Even though his eyes are fixed on his lap, Hakyeon still manages to spot Hongbin’s glassy eyes.  
“Listen,” Hakyeon says in a soft voice and places his hand on Hongbin’s arm. “Accidents happen on stage, and we can’t predict how we’ll react in such situations.” He gently caresses Hongbin’s arm as he continues: “You did the best you could… I really can’t ask for more.”  
“I’m sorry,” Hongbin mumbles, but comforted by the leader’s words, a tiny smile finally pulls up the corners of his mouth.  
“Don’t be,” Hakyeon says with a smile. “Now… show me your battle wound.” A bit hesitantly, Hongbin finally reaches out his hand to let Hakyeon take a proper look at it. The burning hot pot has left a small red mark in the palm of his hand, which Hakyeon gently strokes with his thumb.  
“It doesn’t hurt that much anymore,” Hongbin assures him. “I rinsed it with cold water for a couple of minutes.” Hakyeon nods with a smile and let go of his hand.  
“Good,” he says, as he leans back in the sofa. “You don’t even need me around here.” Hongbin shakes his head, playfully slapping Hakyeon’s shoulder.  
“Hyung, don’t say that,” he says, his usual shark-like smile finally back on his face. Their conversation is interrupted by a light rattling coming from the kitchen, from where Wonshik soon after enters with a stack of bowls in his hands. A band-aid around his finger reveals that Hongbin’s accident hasn’t been the only one.  
“Dinner is ready!” he announces cheerfully as he starts setting the table.  
“Let me help you get to the table,” Hongbin says, somehow making it sound half like an offer and half like a command. But Hakyeon gladly accepts, and yet again he’s transported to another room with the help from one of the members. He sits down across Taekwoon, who pours him a bowl of kimchi stew.  
“Where are Jaehwan and Sanghyuk?” Hakyeon asks, as they start eating with no sign of the two.  
“I sent them to get something in the town a little while ago… I had expected them to be home by now,” Taekwoon mutters and looks up at the clock. Hakyeon feels like the worry ties a tiny knot in his chest.  
“Maybe we should wait for them,” he suggests and lays his spoon back down on the table. Taekwoon shakes his head.  
“You need to eat,” he says. “And the food will just turn cold… I’m sure they’ll show up soon.” Hakyeon only nods in response. Not knowing exactly where Jaehwan and Sanghyuk are is making him quite worried. But at the same time his hands are shaking from hunger, and thus he accepts Taekwoon’s words, grabbing his spoon and starting to eat.  
Their dinner proceeds like it normally would, with the usual banter between the boys. But Hakyeon’s eyes keep wandering to the clocks, where the hands mercilessly keep moving with no trace of either Sanghyuk or Jaehwan. His worry starts to really kick in, as they finish eating with the two still not being home.  
“Odd…” Taekwoon mutters to himself, looking at his phone to check if any of them have written him a text without him noticing. But as expected, it is an empty screen that meets him.  
“Could you try calling them?” he asks and looks up at Hakyeon. “While we do the dishes.” Hakyeon nods and is handed the phone by Taekwoon. He only has to type in the first few numbers for Jaehwan’s phone number, before the contact “Ken” pops up. He presses the name and places the cold screen next to his ear. The monotonous beeping is the only thing he registers for a few moments, before a dull female voice informs him that the owner of this phone number currently isn’t available. He immediately calls the number again but only receives the same response. With his heart in his mouth, he types the number for Sanghyuk and instead tries calling him. But when he hears Sanghyuk’s phone ringing from another room, he quickly gives up his attempt, and decides to try calling Jaehwan again.  
“They aren’t answering,” Hakyeon says, making Taekwoon look back at him from the dishes. Even though he’s still feeling a bit fuzzy, Hakyeon has managed to get up from his seat and walked to the kitchen door. He leans his head against the doorframe.  
“Really?” Taekwoon asks, not very convincingly trying to hide his worry. “Have you tried again?”  
“Multiple times…” Hakyeon answers, rubbing his temple. “Their phones must have died or something.”  
“Should we go and look for them?” Hongbin suggests, already putting away the dishtowel. Taekwoon looks out of the window, where the rain is still pouring down. After a moment of consideration, he nods.  
“You, Wonshik and I can go and look for them,” Taekwoon says with an unusually firm voice. The two boys nod, and they all move to get their coats. To Taekwoon’s surprise, Hakyeon follows them.  
“What are you doing?” he asks, already knowing exactly what Hakyeon is intending to do.  
“I’m going with you of course,” he says, sitting down to put on his shoes, not even minding that he’s still dressed in his sleeping wear.  
“Hakyeon… you should stay here and rest,” Taekwoon says, looking at his friend and sounding defeated.  
“I can’t just sit here by myself while they’re out there missing,” Hakyeon says, not even trying to cover up the worry in his voice.  
“But you’re sick Hakyeon…” Taekwoon says.  
“I can stay here and wait with you, if that makes you feel more at ease,” Wonshik suggests and stops buttoning his jacket.  
“That would probably be the best,” Taekwoon agrees with a small nod. But Hakyeon isn’t won over that easily.  
“I’m well enough to help!” he says, his voice going slightly off pitch. “It’ll be a lot faster to look for them if we have more people.” Taekwoon opens his mouth to protest once more, but suddenly stops when the sound of a key getting inserted in the keyhole interrupts him. The door unlocks and in step Sanghyuk and Jaehwan - completely drenched to the bone.  
“Hi?” Jaehwan says with a confused look at them all and drops the plastic bag in his hand on the floor. Sanghyuk closes the door behind them, having a bit of trouble fitting in the small hall, which usually doesn’t contain all six of them at once.  
“I’ll get some towels,” Hongbin mutters, and pushes past Taekwoon, who finally seems to snap out of it.  
“Where have you been?” he asks, his voice going back to its normal soothing tone.  
“The shop was closed, so we found another one not too far away,” Jaehwan explains as he unzips his jacket. “And… we might have gotten lost on our way home.”  
“Someone MIGHT have forgotten to charge their phone, so we couldn’t follow google maps home,” Sanghyuk contributes, letting his heavy wet jacket fall to the ground. Despite his thick jacket, the rain has managed to soak through, leaving big wet spots on his shirt.  
“It wasn’t my fault,” Jaehwan whines. “If you hadn’t forgotten your phone at home we could have been home much sooner.” Sanghyuk is a second away from giving him a snappy reply, but luckily Hongbin is back just in time to throw a towel into his face. Jaehwan gets handed a towel a bit more gently.  
“You’re back now, that’s all the matters,” Taekwoon says and nods a little at his own words. Hakyeon looks to the bag on the ground. It’s a simple white plastic bag and there’s nothing apparently special about it. What can they possibly have been looking for, that made them go to that extent to find.  
“Hyung!” Jaehwan suddenly calls, making Hakyeon snap out of his thought stream. “How are you feeling?” The towel is covering his head, his face just peeping out, and Hakyeon can’t help but smile.  
“I’m fine,” he says, and gently lays his hands on the towel, to help Jaehwan dry his hair. “Please don’t worry.” His words are only half truth, as his head is starting to feel heavy, and whether he likes admitting it or not, all he really wants in that moment is to sit down.  
“If you two go and put on some dry clothes on, I’ll take care of the groceries,” Taekwoon says, bowing down to grab the plastic bag on the ground. The hall is finally cleared, as Jaehwan and Sanghyuk proceeds to the bathroom to get themselves cleaned up. Hakyeon follows Taekwoon into the kitchen, where the content of the bag is finally revealed.  
“We should probably put them in the freezer for a bit,” Taekwoon mutters to himself, as he pulls out six cartons of strawberry ice cream. Hakyeon’s favorite.  
“You shouldn’t have,” Hakyeon mumbles, feeling the tears starting to gather up in the corners of his eyes once again. Knowing very well that the ice cream is quite expensive, he has never asked any of them to buy him a new one after the last one he bought went missing. Taekwoon turns around and smiles at the look on Hakyeon’s face.  
“Hakyeon…” he says in a loving voice, cupping the other boys face in his hand, wiping away his tears with his thumbs.  
“Thank you,” Hakyeon says softly laying his hands on top of Taekwoon’s, sending him a small smile. Their eyes lock and for a small moment, that feels like eternity, Hakyeon’s fatigued body feels soothed in the gaze of Taekwoon’s deep brown eyes.  
“Let’s go join the others,” Taekwoon breaks the silence, his hands sliding down Hakyeon’s arms. “We talked about watching a movie back when you were sleeping.” Hakyeon nods, and with Taekwoon’s arm still around him, they go back to the living room.  
“Ice cream?” Jaehwan calls with a pout from one of their arm chairs when Taekwoon and Hakyeon enters the room. Though his hair is still very wet, he has changed into a ridiculously oversized but dry shirt.  
“A little later… it melted while you were lost,” Taekwoon answers him, letting out a small sigh as he sits down on the sofa. Hakyeon slumps down on the seat next to him.  
“What movie should we watch?” Wonshik asks, pulling out the drawer of DVDs. There’s a small moment of silence before he looks up and adds, “Hakyeon, what movie do you want to watch?” Hakyeon is taken aback for a second, not used to having to make this kind of decision. Usually he would let the others decide on a movie. But of course, he isn’t going to pass down this opportunity.  
“We could watch Transformers?” he suggests, taking a quick look around to see if anyone is against the idea. After receiving agreeing nods from the others, Wonshik puts in the DVD and sits down on the sofa next to Hakyeon, turning on the movie with a few presses of the remote. Hakyeon has mentioned before that this is his favorite movie, and he can’t help but feel touched by the members’ actions. From Wonshik and Hongbin’s cooking, to Jaehwan and Hongbin defying the weather to go and get them all ice cream. And then of course there’s Taekwoon. Hakyeon takes his eyes of the tv screen for a brief moment, to look up at Taekwoon. Taekwoon stretches, and while lowering his arm discreetly places his arm on top of the sofa cushion behind Hakyeon’s neck. Normally, Hakyeon would have poked fun at Taekwoon’s very obvious and very cheesy move. But today it’s alright. Today, he doesn’t mind Taekwoon’s blatant gestures. With a soft sigh, he rests his head on Taekwoon’s shoulder, absorbing all the warmth radiating from his body. The tv screen becomes blurry, as his eyelids starts to get heavier, and he fights bravely to stay awake. But it’s a lost battle, and despite the heavy sound effects from the movie, it doesn’t take long until he has dozed off, still with a tiny smile pulling the corners of his mouth.

Morning comes, sending its gentle warm rays or sun light through the curtains. For once the dorm is quiet, only the faint sound of the cars driving by outside foating in through the cracked window. A scrap of paper has been left on the coffee table, informing him that there’s still one ice cream left in the freezer from yesterday, and if Hakyeon needs them, they’ll be at the dance studio until 4pm. In five very different handwritings the note has been signed by Taekwoon, Jaehwan, Wonshik, Hongbin and Sanghyuk.  
On the sofa he lays, his chest slowly rising and falling in pace with his breath. He is many things. Hakyeon. Hyung. Leader. Singer. Dancer. Actor. The many roles can be a heavy burden. But more than anything, he is one thing which makes all of the before-mentioned manageable.  
He is loved.


End file.
